One thing is clear: we’re witnessing the gutting of the DOJ, the expansion of federal overreach, and the practical end of habeas corpus.
#LawAgainstAuthoritarianism
One thing is clear: we’re witnessing the gutting of the DOJ, the expansion of federal overreach, and the practical end of habeas corpus.
#LawAgainstAuthoritarianism
Judge Blackwell continued:
“If anything, it ought to be a warning sign. Continued detention is not lawful just because compliance with release orders is administratively difficult for you.”
Judge Jerry Blackwell issued a warning that shouldn’t be necessary:
“Having what you feel are too many detainees, too many cases, too many deadlines, and not enough infrastructure is not a defense to continued detention.”
Thousands of people—including U.S. citizens—are now stuck in detention months after judges ordered their release.
Why? There are too few people left at the DOJ to process the paperwork.
Habeas corpus has become optional.
Meanwhile, ICE has ramped up enforcement to historic levels:
→ “Kavanaugh stops” (warrantless racially motivated stops stops)
→ Mass nationwide raids
→ Billions invested in deportation infrastructure
Arrest everyone. Sort out the legality of arrests later.
She went on to say that the DOJ is processing habeas corpus petitions with:
→ Untrained ICE volunteers
→ Military JAG lawyers with no civilian court experience
→ Probationary attorneys with no orientation
The infrastructure for basic constitutional work has collapsed.
She confessed on the record:
“I’m a probationary attorney with no proper orientation or training. I stupidly volunteered for a mission I was not equipped to handle.”
Julie Ye appeared before Federal Judge Jerry Blackwell in the U.S. District Court to answer for the government’s failure to comply with judicial orders releasing people from ICE detention.
abcnews.go.com/US/job-sucks...
“This job sucks. Please detain me so I can get some sleep.”
That’s what a DOJ lawyer told a federal judge last week.
The headline went viral for many in the legal world.
But the story behind it is a constitutional crisis.
My latest reprinted in @truthout.org. "One group member admitted that she followed ICE vehicles while honking loudly so often that her car horn broke."
24.02.2026 04:03 — 👍 458 🔁 149 💬 2 📌 5
Minnesota is facing serious and growing challenges in the midst of ongoing federal occupation and violence, and our communities are calling for meaningful change. Protest can be a powerful tool for challenging unjust systems and pushing leaders to act. At the same time, actions like rent strikes can carry significant legal and financial risks. Minnesota renters deserve clear information about those risks so they can make informed decisions about whether participating is the right choice for them. <HOME Line logo>
RISKS OF PARTICIPATING IN A RENT STRIKE -Threats/retaliation from landlord -Eviction / Forced move -Loss of a rental subsidy -Non-renewal of lease -Long-term credit and rental history problems --Owing additional money on top of your regular monthly payment (late fees, court fees, and attorney fees—could be $400+) <HOME Line logo>
PEOPLE AT SIGNIFICANT RISK -Tenants who cannot afford to pay the additional fees associated with an eviction. -Tenants who have subsidies. -Tenants who would have difficulty attending court or representing themselves due to language, transportation, or employment barriers. -Tenants on a month-to-month lease or leases that may soon expire. -Tenants with roommates- if a roommate doesn’t pay their rent, the eviction is for all tenants. <HOME Line logo>
Head to our website to check out all the details about the risks associated with participating in a rent strike https://homelinemn.org/rentstrike If you would like to discuss your specific situation with an attorney, please use our Email an Attorney form. https://homelinemn.org/email
HOME Line Legal & Organizing staff have prepared an educational resource about rent strike risks: homelinemn.org/rentstrike
Statement: MN is facing serious and growing challenges in the midst of ongoing federal occupation and violence, and our communities are calling for meaningful change.
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“The boycott is the latest attempt by critics to put pressure on companies that may be able to influence government officials to bring change.”
www.newsweek.com/resist-and-u...
"If you exercise your First Amendment right to protest injustices you believe your government is committing, you risk being targeted by that very government. If you don’t want Big Tech helping that government target you? You may have to be right back at that protest again."
slate.com/news-and-pol...
“ICE lawyers in New York City earn more than $100,000 a year, enjoy generous benefits and post about rich social lives. Their work is vital to Trump’s deportation agenda”
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
For the legal profession watching this happen:
If career prosecutors won’t be complicit in abandoning justice, what’s our responsibility?
Private lawyers. Law professors. Bar associations. Civil rights orgs.
When the DOJ becomes a weapon, who holds the line?
#LawAgainstAuthoritarianism
These aren’t isolated acts. Federal lawyers are resigning across DOJ offices nationwide.
They’re being asked to prosecute dissent, shield abuse, and abandon civil rights enforcement.
Some are refusing. Some are walking away. Some are speaking out.
Six federal lawyers walked away rather than turn the law into a weapon against a widow.
because their oaths—to justice, to conscience—meant more than compliance with authoritarian orders.
Acting AG Thompson in Minnesota said no.
He refused to prosecute Nicole’s grieving widow. He objected to shielding the shooter.
Five of his colleagues resigned with him.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/13/u...
The DOJ blocked Minnesota from investigating the shooting, using
federal supremacy as a shield. This is how impunity gets institutionalized and the law leveraged by authoritarians.
The DOJ didn’t stop there.
They opened a criminal investigation into Nicole’s widow. Not the shooter.
Then DHS Secretary Kristi Noem called Nicole Good a “domestic terrorist.”
Without evidence.
Deputy AG Todd Blanche let the agent who killed her walk free.
20.02.2026 00:33 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Nicole Renée Good was shot dead by ICE on January 7th.
She was a US citizen. A mother. An observer. She was a person.
For the legal community, what happened next serves as a lesson for how corrupt the system is and how some legal experts are resisting.
"This lawsuit is a test case to see if people harmed by federal officers can successfully sue in federal courts for violations of a federal law that protects people against abuses by state and local officers"
19.02.2026 15:01 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
"The ACLU’s lawsuit alleges the federal government used local law enforcement as a tool to violate the civil rights of these families."
www.themarshallproject.org/2026/02/10/i...
"Understanding how the criminal legal system and immigration enforcement have been braided together is essential.
So is understanding the central but often overlooked role of sheriffs’ departments and the political economy of rural areas as bulwarks of the carceral and deportation state"
“How do you justify terrorizing an entire community?” he asked. “It is the most un-American thing I’ve ever experienced in my entire life.”
theintercept.com/2026/02/09/i...
One of the key virtues of Brazilian democracy that I witnessed: its multiparty system.
The separation of interests between the president and Congressional majority led to a kind of legislative anti-authoritarian pushback from a center-right Congress Americans can only dream about.
